Things I learned growing up Canadian

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workinforwood

workinforwood

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Joined
Mar 1, 2007
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Location
Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Yep, the great white north is equally odd as the south!

How To Tell If You're a Canadian:
You're not offended by the term "HOMO MILK"
You understand the phrase "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine, on the chesterfield."
You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.
You drink Pop, not Soda.
You know what a Mickey and 2-4's mean.
You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays (not vacation).
You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway
You drive on a highway, not a freeway
You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
You know that Casey and Finnegan were not part of a Celtic musical group.
You cried when you heard that "Mr. Dress Up" died recently.
You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
You brag to Americans that: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, and Captain Kirk are Canadians.
You know what a touque is.
You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed"
Your local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
You know that the four seasons means: almost winter, winter, still winter and road work.
You know that when it's 25 degrees outside, it's a warm day.
You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.
You know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan"
You perk up when you hear the theme song from "Hockey Night in Canada."
You are in grade 12, not the 12th grade.
"Eh?" is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than,"Huh?"
 
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You know a Loonie is a a dollar and a bird, a Toonie is worth two.
You pull bills out of your wallet and can tell what they are by the colour. :smile:
You have a federal election that is only about 2 months long and you have more political parties because you can count to, and keep track of, more than two in your head at a time. :tongue:
You talk about beaver and it has nothing to do with TV.
 
You speak "uh" "ew" and "eh" ends every sentence. So to be heading to Georgia..you might say "yuh boot tuh head sooth, eh?" And if you get there nobody will understand you and you don't understand them..best to just have a stare off with each other

Snort a quart of flem and speak slow and low to sound Canadian. A few puffs of the green weed can't hurt either.
 
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Most of that list would work for growing up in Michigan's UP as well but you forgot one.........You belong to the nicest group of folks on the north American continent, because you want to be.

I will always have a special place in my heart for the people of northern Ontario, especially the area around the Batchawana river and Batchawana bay. I have been to all 50 states and 3 countries and have never made friends faster anywhere than I did in Canada! The fishin aint bad either! Specks in the spring on the pancake, nothin beats it Eh!?!
 
Dear Working for Wood,

You mentioned bragging to Americans. I always thought Canadians were Americans, but maybe Canada was moved off the North American continent since I went to school. Just having a little fun with you. I enjoyed Canada the few times I visited there.

Ben
 
Canadians are definitely not Americans. But, just like Americans they have great pride in their country. They have great humor and don't mind being made fun of, but won't tolerate the Country itself as a joke is all. I'm proud to be American but will always have a special connection with Canada.
 
Smitty37 said:
Well, I know what poutine is....ugh.
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Omg, I'd kill for a Poutine right now. Sound disgusting but tastes amazing! I think its the cheese curds that throws you, but really cheese curds is just super fresh motzerella cheese like u would put on pizza. Cheese fries are good. Fries and gravy is good. So why not Cheese fries and gravy?
 
I've always thought Saskatchewan was pronounced exactly like it's spelled ---- am I missing something.

Homogenized Milk is about the only kind you can get down here unless you go directly to the farm and get it before the processors get their hands on it....so we just call it milk.

I have eaten poutine and it's still ugh.
 
Last night I cashed my pogey and went to buy a mickey of C.C. at the beer parlour, but my skidoo got stuck in a muskeg on my way back to the duplex. I was trying to deke out a deer, you see. Damn chinook, melted everything. And then a Mountie snuck up behind me in a ghost car and gave me an impaired. I was standing there in my Stanfields and toque wishing I was at home sitting on my chesterfield.

If you say this to somebody and they nod and say Bad day man, they are Canadian. Just to further confuse you there are no spelling mistakes in the above paragraph.
 
Yes there is unless you were wearing a 13th century womans hat..but being out in the bog on a snowmobile I bet you were wearing a tuque! Hehe.

I do miss the page 3 girl. Whoever came up with that idea should have got the Nobel Peace Prize.

I miss City Tv after 10 pm too! :)

I was born and raised in Brantford Ont, that's Gretzgy town and in the same era too. Played Hockey as a kid in true Canadian fashion, on ice poured over grass with pockets of grass sticking up through the rink and even a hill in the rink too...that's real Hockey.
 
Do you have Timbits in Washington state? We have them in Michigan and Ohio. I still have one of the original Tim Horton thermal mugs with the wide base, its about 15 yrs old, pretty beat up but I use it every day! Its sitting on the floor with coffee in it right now. I don't leave home without it
 
Sadly no, here we noly have Krispy Kreeme. not bad but not as good as Tim Horton's . When I first met my wife she worked in Skagway Alaska and I in Whitehorse Yukon, When I would go to visit one of her coworkers would always ask me to bring a pound of coffee and once she asked me to but 2 Tim Horton's ceramic mugs because they were a nice shape and kept coffee warmer longer.

For those of you who are wondering Ben Johnson was a Canadian sprinter who set a world record in the 100 meter dash and tested positive for steroid use.
 
Displaced Canadian said:
Sadly no, here we noly have Krispy Kreeme. not bad but not as good as Tim Horton's . When I first met my wife she worked in Skagway Alaska and I in Whitehorse Yukon, When I would go to visit one of her coworkers would always ask me to bring a pound of coffee and once she asked me to but 2 Tim Horton's ceramic mugs because they were a nice shape and kept coffee warmer longer.

For those of you who are wondering Ben Johnson was a Canadian sprinter who set a world record in the 100 meter dash and tested positive for steroid use.
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Gee I knew who both Ben and Wayne were....does that mean I'm a Canadian?
 
I simply nod and pretend to understand whats being said.:rolleyes: Translation please. I don't speak Canadian. :biggrin:
 
But actually, I think Ben Johnson was Jamaican and ran for Canada because Jamaica wouldn't let him on their team because of the roids. I could be wrong, but it seems to me I heard something like that. Man had legs like a Clydesdale! lol ..I think he whinnied like one too.
 
Smitty..you are not Canadian, but you might find some Canadian canon balls buried in your yard. When the Americans invaded Canada they got pushed back to about Delaware. Canada was very well fortified with canons from the west side of Lake Erie all the way to the end of the Saint Lawrence, and they were all up on cliffs several hundred feet up. Many of the Canons still exist today. That war was how Ontario ended up with such a nice dip to the south "banana belt" of Canada. Was actually pretty similar to when the Mexicans invaded the USA really, only it was USA invading Canada. The French and the Natives had to join the English to repel the invasion. Generals Frontenac and Montblanc I think where the commanders. Rather rusty with my Canadian History, it's been a few decades. But this also helps explain Quebec's French existence as well.
 
workinforwood said:
Smitty..you are not Canadian, but you might find some Canadian canon balls buried in your yard. When the Americans invaded Canada they got pushed back to about Delaware. Canada was very well fortified with canons from the west side of Lake Erie all the way to the end of the Saint Lawrence, and they were all up on cliffs several hundred feet up. Many of the Canons still exist today. That war was how Ontario ended up with such a nice dip to the south "banana belt" of Canada. Was actually pretty similar to when the Mexicans invaded the USA really, only it was USA invading Canada. The French and the Natives had to join the English to repel the invasion. Generals Frontenac and Montblanc I think where the commanders. Rather rusty with my Canadian History, it's been a few decades. But this also helps explain Quebec's French existence as well.
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Well you are close.....Quebec's French existance goes back a little farther than that. It was the war of 1812 and it was far from a decisive victory and the British (Canada was then still a colony) ultimately settled with the borders as they had been....the British did successfully ward off US invasions with the help of Canadian militia who performed very well. But they lost the naval battles for Lake Erie and Lake Champlain and their own invasions of the US were also repulsed. After some initial success they were soundly defeated at Baltimore, New York and New Orleans. The success of the British and Canadians stemmed largely from the Americans being ill trained and over confident and the Brits getting a lot of help from the native population under Tucumsa and their success dropped off considerabley after he was killed and the native Americans dropped out of the war.

Delaware was never in danger from the north --- Plattsburg NY perhaps....
 
workinforwood said:
Smitty..you are not Canadian, but you might find some Canadian canon balls buried in your yard. When the Americans invaded Canada they got pushed back to about Delaware. Canada was very well fortified with canons from the west side of Lake Erie all the way to the end of the Saint Lawrence, and they were all up on cliffs several hundred feet up. Many of the Canons still exist today. That war was how Ontario ended up with such a nice dip to the south "banana belt" of Canada. Was actually pretty similar to when the Mexicans invaded the USA really, only it was USA invading Canada. The French and the Natives had to join the English to repel the invasion. Generals Frontenac and Montblanc I think where the commanders. Rather rusty with my Canadian History, it's been a few decades. But this also helps explain Quebec's French existence as well.
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Well The U.S was invaded before Canada. The first of the fighting was when the Brits took Mackinaw. That was followed shortly afterward when they invaded and captured fort Detroit from......Windsor. The war ended with a status-quo settlement signed in Ghent, Belgium where both the U.S. & Britain agreed to go back to the original borders. In fact Britain returned something like 10,000,000 acres. The U.S. forces did capture present day Toronto, of course in those days it was York. While still called Canada it was the French that named it that. When it became a part of Britain it was not worth changing all the maps. In fact (& no disrespect to Canada or Canadians my father was one & I have a load of relatives all over from Montreal to Vancouver) When Canada was lost by the French on of the kings minister told him "Cheer up what have you lost but a few acres of snow"
 
The French and English vied for Canada for hundreds of years before the decisive battle - but it wasn't in 1812. Prior to that, Cartier, Cabot, et al ventured in the 1500s (using Viking maps) to Canada, and many others followed. The fisheries off Newfoundland, and the plentiful lumber and beaver trapping led to Canada's development as a colony - by both the French and the English.

The big battle between the French and English that led to Quebec as a territory within the dominion of Canada was not the War of 1812, but rather the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. Wolfe defeated Montcalm, although both died in the battle, and the English won - but allowed the French to retain their culture and customs.

The War of 1812 was an extension of the global war between England and France, and it's interesting to see how differently it's taught down there.

Madison (the US president) declared war on Upper Canada in order to try and extend US territory and eliminate the foreign power at it's border. With that in mind, the US invaded Canada via Niagra. The Americans were pushed back, and the Canadians continued down to Washington and captured and burned all public buildings (including the white house and capitol) to the ground.

Further land invasions (including the Battle of New Orleans) were later repulsed, and the two countries borders were restored in the treaty of Ghent.

As the war was begun by the US, and the intent of the US was to seize Canadian land, the outcome is thought of as a Canadian victory by most. The US intent was to invade and retain Canadian land, while the Canadian intent was to repel the invaders and retain sovereignty. Since Canada's goals were the only ones met, the outcome is a Canadian victory, by history's standards. Judging from the views I'm hearing here, it's thought of differently down there.

Interesting how history has bias, isn't it? The viewpoint of the historian definitely factors in, eh?

Two neat songs from the era, from each viewpoint - one classic, one comedic:
Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton (or Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
War of 1812 - Arrogant Worms (intent of singers is to be humourous - please listen with that in mind)
 
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Displaced Canadian said:
Last night I cashed my pogey and went to buy a mickey of C.C. at the beer parlour, but my skidoo got stuck in a muskeg on my way back to the duplex. I was trying to deke out a deer, you see. Damn chinook, melted everything. And then a Mountie snuck up behind me in a ghost car and gave me an impaired. I was standing there in my Stanfields and toque wishing I was at home sitting on my chesterfield.

If you say this to somebody and they nod and say Bad day man, they are Canadian. Just to further confuse you there are no spelling mistakes in the above paragraph.
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Translation:
Last night I cashed my unemployment check and went to the bar and bought a small bottle of local rye whiskey. My snowmobile got stuck in a swamp like area on my way back to my house where I live separated from my neighbor by a paper thin wall where we pretend the other doesn't exist but do our best to drive each other crazy. I was trying to out maneuver a deer. A warm wind blew in and melted all the snow. A police officer came out of nowhere in an unmarked police car and gave me a DUI. I was standing there in my long underwear, you know the kind that leave Belgian waffle-like prints all over your butt, and a knit woolen hat with a pom-pom that serves no purpose but if you cut it off the whole thing unravels -- wishing I was at home sitting on my sofa.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
The French and English vied for Canada for hundreds of years before the decisive battle - but it wasn't in 1812. Prior to that, Cartier, Cabot, et al ventured in the 1500s (using Viking maps) to Canada, and many others followed. The fisheries off Newfoundland, and the plentiful lumber and beaver trapping led to Canada's development as a colony - by both the French and the English.

The big battle between the French and English that led to Quebec as a territory within the dominion of Canada was not the War of 1812, but rather the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. Wolfe defeated Montcalm, although both died in the battle, and the English won - but allowed the French to retain their culture and customs.

The War of 1812 was an extension of the global war between England and France, and it's interesting to see how differently it's taught down there.

Madison (the US president) declared war on Upper Canada in order to try and extend US territory and eliminate the foreign power at it's border. With that in mind, the US invaded Canada via Niagra. The Americans were pushed back, and the Canadians continued down to Washington and captured and burned all public buildings (including the white house and capitol) to the ground.

Further land invasions (including the Battle of New Orleans) were later repulsed, and the two countries borders were restored in the treaty of Ghent.

As the war was begun by the US, and the intent of the US was to seize Canadian land, the outcome is thought of as a Canadian victory by most. The US intent was to invade and retain Canadian land, while the Canadian intent was to repel the invaders and retain sovereignty. Since Canada's goals were the only ones met, the outcome is a Canadian victory, by history's standards. Judging from the views I'm hearing here, it's thought of differently down there.

Interesting how history has bias, isn't it? The viewpoint of the historian definitely factors in, eh?

Two neat songs from the era, from each viewpoint - one classic, one comedic:
Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton (or Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
War of 1812 - Arrogant Worms (intent of singers is to be humourous - please listen with that in mind)
Click to expand...

You're right -- the British gained control of Canada during what we call the French and Indian War in 1759.

You're wrong -- James Madison did NOT declare war on Upper Canada -- The United States Congress Declared War on England in the closest vote being something like 19 to 13 in the Senate and about 79 - 39 in the House of Representatives.


From the USA standpoint the war had nothing to do with the Nepolianic War between England and France (although the Brits consider it to be a minor sidebar in that war) except that the British Navy was illegally stopping US Ships and removing "contraband" and also removing sailors and impressing them into service with the British Navy claiming they were British subjects. They also had the audasity to do that within sight of US ports. England was also refusing to recognize naturalized US Citizens who had been British subjects (snubbing their nose at US Sovreignty).

A second cause of the war was British support and sponsorship of Native Americans opposing US expansion into what are now the states of Ohio, Indiania, Wixconsin, Michigan which the US had bought from France in the Louisiana purchase. They were supplying them with Arms, ammunition etc.

While some believe otherwise, the US invasions of Canada were more a result of the war than a cause. The US could not challenge the Brits on the high seas other than to harass their shipping a little and Canada was right next door. The British had substantial forces in Canada which could havee and did threaten the states bordering Canada and defeating them could have been helpful in forcing the British to stop supporting the Native Americans and leave US Shipping alone.

It is a real Stretch to say Canada achieved their objectives since at the time they were British subjects and had no objectives of their own. It was the British who wanted to retain Canada not Canadians wanting to remain independent.

It is also rarely mentioned (never in our History) that the United States states that were closest to or bordered on Canada were in general opposed to the war. And in fact some of them retained trade with the Brits throughout the war.

I will say this though the war of 1812 is the most poorly taught War in the US education system with the average us student knowing only about the bombardment of Fort McHenry (sometimes called a battle - which it was not, the British fleet remaind outside the range of American guns and the Fort never fired a shot) the Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of New Orleans which took place after the peace treaty had been signed.
 
sgimbel said:
Are there any books out about this? I'm 60 and don't remember (remember over 60) ever hearing about this.
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Not surprising, it is largely ignored in our education system. The Canadians do a little better in covering it from their perspective which tends to over state the battles around our northern border where to be honest neither side did particularily well, but the Brits might have been marginally more successful than we were.
 
Canada has an exciting history and it is not taught very well even in Canada. I took canadian history as an elective in high school. Part of the reason the French Canadians were allowed to keep their language, culture, and religion if after the war in 1759 the British knew that soon there would be a "dispute" as to where exactly the border between the United States and the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada. The British were afraid the French Canadians would defect and fight with the US. The Americans did expect the French to help them overthrow the British and when they landed on the shores in Quebec they expected to be welcomed as liberators and were shocked when the french threw them back into the sea. French Canadians are passionate about everything they do. :biggrin: At the end of the war of 1812 the border between Canada and the United States was set. As for Toronto, if the Americans had asked the Canadians would have let them keep it. :biggrin:
 
When I went to school, Canadian history was taught extensively, and no doubt all about the Canadian point of view. Any Country would do that of course. I think one of the more interesting pieces of History is about 2 ships that collide just out side Halifax Nova Scotia and the explosion was so intense it completely leveled most of the city. I think one of the ships was loaded with gun powder? Didn't have any effect on the Newfie population. In Canada, we make fun of the Newfie's..it's like our Kentucky! :biggrin: Newfie being from Newfoundland...of course we love them really.

Like...how do you confuse a Newfie? Put him in a round room, tell him to pee in the corner, eh!
 
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